A necropsy will be conducted on a killer whale calf that was found dead near Sooke, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans says.
A resident spotted the animal floating near Otter Point Wednesday and called the BC Marine Mammal Response Network, DFO spokesman Paul Cottrell said.
Weather conditions hampered efforts to locate the body until Friday morning, when it was found about 500 metres offshore.
The “very young” calf appeared to be female and was just under seven feet long when it died, Cottrell said.
“At this time, we don’t know the ID of the animal,” he said. “We don’t know if it’s a transient or a resident at this point, or what population it’s from.”
The carcass was missing much of its skin and was badly decomposed, he said.
The U.S.-based Center for Whale Research reported last month that an orca calf belonging to J-pod of the endangered southern resident population was missing and presumed dead.
If it’s the same calf that was found Friday, it would be the second J-pod calf to die in the last several months , according to senior scientist Dr. Ken Balcomb.
But he said that’s no cause for alarm, because the southern residents also experienced a record number of births in 2015.
“The last year is remarkable, and as far as we know, we’ve only lost one out of nine in the past 14 months,” Balcomb said.
Researchers have previously estimated orca calves have a 40 per cent chance of mortality in their first year.
It’s unclear what caused last year’s baby boom, but Balcomb said it could be because of a surplus of food in B.C. waters.
The orca calf’s body is being transported to Abbotsford for a necropsy.
